Defending the party system

Speaking of political parties, some members are speaking out about the effectiveness of the political party system, as many candidates are running as independents and saying the party system does not work.
Cayman 27’s Philipp Richter has the report.

With 26 out of 61 candidates running with a party and 34 candidates running under independents, there is a strong possibility independents could hold the key to the next government, but party faithfuls say otherwise.

“It is healthy for a democracy to have a lot of people participating in the process, I think in the system, we have to trust the system, at the end of the day, for the right people to get elected and for the country to have the best government possible,” said Hon. Osbourne Bodden, PPM Candidate & Community Affairs Minister.

Progressives candidate minister Osbourne Bodden believes one man one vote and single member constituencies, encouraged more independent candidates throwing their hat into the ring, rather that the ruling the party system.

“Has led to an increase in the amount of people coming out for candidacy, I think more people feel that they have an opportunity to get elected because of the lesser amount of votes that is needed,” said Hon. Osbourne Bodden.

Even with the opportunity of getting elected more reachable than before for independents, Cayman Democratic Party leader, Hon. McKeeva Bush says the party system still offers the country a sense of direction.

“I believe the person must have their being, their own individuality, but at the same time, if they are apart of the party, then they work to accomplish the same goal,” said Cayman Democratic Party leader, McKeeva Bush.

For PPM candidate, Heather Bodden, a former MLA in the mid-nineties, she sees the independent movement as a loose entity.

“If you are not structured before you get there, it’s not much sense of trying to get there as an individual, it has to be a leader and a group of people who know exactly what they are doing on a day to day basis,” said PPM Candidate, Heather Bodden.

Even though the party candidates are outnumbered, they believe their unity and shared ideologies will show the country that as a unit, they can bring the country forward.

Just a reminder we are 34 days away from the 24th May general elections.

About the author

Philipp Richter

Philipp Richter was born in Austria and moved to the Cayman Islands at the age of three. Throughout his life, he has always enjoyed documenting his surroundings with cameras. Studying television broadcasting and communications, he now can show the reality of life in Grand Cayman to the public.

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